Over 60% of M&A Sellers Directly Offer to Buyers: "Reverse Offer M&A" Expands
On the M&A matching platform "TRANBI," "Reverse Offer M&A," where sellers directly offer to buyers, is rapidly expanding. The usage rate exceeded 60% in FY2025, with an average of 72 approaches per case. Sellers prioritize entrusting their business to a trustworthy partner over monetary value.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 19:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 11:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 11:50 (48 min after Collected)
TRANBI Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Satoshi Takahashi), which operates the business succession and M&A matching platform "TRANBI," analyzed the usage trends of its "Negotiation Offer Function," which allows sellers to directly propose negotiations to potential buyers.
The analysis revealed that the usage rate of this function surged approximately threefold in three years, from about 22% in FY2023 to about 63% in FY2025, and that sellers send offers to an average of 72 potential buyers per case.
"Reverse Offer M&A," where sellers themselves select and approach transferees using the platform, is expanding.
■ Background: Deepening Business Succession Issues and Changing Seller Mindsets
According to an estimate by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (2019), approximately 2.45 million SME owners will be over 70 years old by 2025, with more than half having no successor. Now that this period has arrived, business succession has become an urgent management issue. Against this backdrop, M&A has become widely recognized as a powerful solution.
However, M&A utilizing platforms has traditionally been "buyer-led," where buyers search for deals and approach sellers. Sellers tended to be in a passive position, waiting for contact from buyers after registering their cases. While traditional intermediary M&A involves intermediaries approaching potential buyers, there was a demand for a mechanism on platforms that allowed sellers to act proactively.
TRANBI's "Negotiation Offer Function" transforms this structure. It is a system where sellers can view buyer profiles and directly propose, "I want to negotiate with this person." In January 2025, a function was also added to automatically send offers when registering a case. Supported by such product evolution, this analysis clearly shows the rapid expansion of this function's usage.
■ Data (1): Transition of Offer Usage Rate (3 years)
The percentage of sales cases where offers were sent to potential buyers was aggregated by fiscal year.
*Since a limit on the number of offers that can be sent was introduced in 2024, we are comparing "usage rate" instead of "number of offers sent" to accurately capture the change in seller proactivity.
In FY2025, over 60% of registered cases utilized the offer function. With the product-side support of the automated offer sending setting introduced in January 2025, the usage rate has consistently exceeded 50% since May of the same year. This indicates that sellers' active utilization of the offer function is becoming established.
■ Data (2): Average of 72 Approaches per Case
In addition to the usage rate, we also focused on the "depth" of seller behavior. The following is the result of analyzing the number of offer recipients per case for sales cases registered in the last 90 days (as of April 16, 2026).
Average of 72 approaches per case
(Targeting sales cases registered in the last 90 days / As of April 16, 2026)
Sellers not only register their cases but also proactively view buyer profiles, assess compatibility with their business, and directly approach an average of 72 people. The data clearly shows a shift in seller behavior from "waiting M&A" to "choosing M&A."
■ Data (3): Seller's "True Intentions" Seen in Offer Messages
An analysis of the content of offer messages sent by sellers to potential buyers reveals that sellers' motivation is not "to sell at a high price" but "to entrust to a trustworthy partner."
[Most Frequent Keywords in Offer Messages over the Last Month]
The most frequent keyword, "growth," exceeded 15,000 occurrences per month, indicating that sellers prioritize the future development of their business. The prominence of "succession," "region," "successor," and "cherish" also shows that emotional attachment to the business and expectations for successors, rather than just monetary terms and conditions, form the core motivation for offers.
■ "Voices of Sellers" Seen in Actual Offer Messages
*The following examples are based on actual offer messages sent by sellers to potential buyers on TRANBI, with some modifications and rephrasing to maintain nuance without identifying individuals or companies.
Example 1: Owner of a privately run beauty salon
"I want to entrust the salon I have carefully nurtured for many years to someone who will continue the relationships with our customers. We have many regular customers, and a high repeat rate is our strength. I am looking for someone who will cherish the trust we have built with our customers."
Example 2: Owner of a small accommodation facility in an isolated island area
"I want to hand over the business to someone who will value relationships with local people and actively participate in community activities."
Example 3: Executive of an IT company
"I want to create an environment where employees can continue to work with peace of mind."
The analysis revealed that the usage rate of this function surged approximately threefold in three years, from about 22% in FY2023 to about 63% in FY2025, and that sellers send offers to an average of 72 potential buyers per case.
"Reverse Offer M&A," where sellers themselves select and approach transferees using the platform, is expanding.
■ Background: Deepening Business Succession Issues and Changing Seller Mindsets
According to an estimate by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (2019), approximately 2.45 million SME owners will be over 70 years old by 2025, with more than half having no successor. Now that this period has arrived, business succession has become an urgent management issue. Against this backdrop, M&A has become widely recognized as a powerful solution.
However, M&A utilizing platforms has traditionally been "buyer-led," where buyers search for deals and approach sellers. Sellers tended to be in a passive position, waiting for contact from buyers after registering their cases. While traditional intermediary M&A involves intermediaries approaching potential buyers, there was a demand for a mechanism on platforms that allowed sellers to act proactively.
TRANBI's "Negotiation Offer Function" transforms this structure. It is a system where sellers can view buyer profiles and directly propose, "I want to negotiate with this person." In January 2025, a function was also added to automatically send offers when registering a case. Supported by such product evolution, this analysis clearly shows the rapid expansion of this function's usage.
■ Data (1): Transition of Offer Usage Rate (3 years)
The percentage of sales cases where offers were sent to potential buyers was aggregated by fiscal year.
*Since a limit on the number of offers that can be sent was introduced in 2024, we are comparing "usage rate" instead of "number of offers sent" to accurately capture the change in seller proactivity.
In FY2025, over 60% of registered cases utilized the offer function. With the product-side support of the automated offer sending setting introduced in January 2025, the usage rate has consistently exceeded 50% since May of the same year. This indicates that sellers' active utilization of the offer function is becoming established.
■ Data (2): Average of 72 Approaches per Case
In addition to the usage rate, we also focused on the "depth" of seller behavior. The following is the result of analyzing the number of offer recipients per case for sales cases registered in the last 90 days (as of April 16, 2026).
Average of 72 approaches per case
(Targeting sales cases registered in the last 90 days / As of April 16, 2026)
Sellers not only register their cases but also proactively view buyer profiles, assess compatibility with their business, and directly approach an average of 72 people. The data clearly shows a shift in seller behavior from "waiting M&A" to "choosing M&A."
■ Data (3): Seller's "True Intentions" Seen in Offer Messages
An analysis of the content of offer messages sent by sellers to potential buyers reveals that sellers' motivation is not "to sell at a high price" but "to entrust to a trustworthy partner."
[Most Frequent Keywords in Offer Messages over the Last Month]
The most frequent keyword, "growth," exceeded 15,000 occurrences per month, indicating that sellers prioritize the future development of their business. The prominence of "succession," "region," "successor," and "cherish" also shows that emotional attachment to the business and expectations for successors, rather than just monetary terms and conditions, form the core motivation for offers.
■ "Voices of Sellers" Seen in Actual Offer Messages
*The following examples are based on actual offer messages sent by sellers to potential buyers on TRANBI, with some modifications and rephrasing to maintain nuance without identifying individuals or companies.
Example 1: Owner of a privately run beauty salon
"I want to entrust the salon I have carefully nurtured for many years to someone who will continue the relationships with our customers. We have many regular customers, and a high repeat rate is our strength. I am looking for someone who will cherish the trust we have built with our customers."
Example 2: Owner of a small accommodation facility in an isolated island area
"I want to hand over the business to someone who will value relationships with local people and actively participate in community activities."
Example 3: Executive of an IT company
"I want to create an environment where employees can continue to work with peace of mind."